IDAGIO | Arnold Mendelssohn: Motetten zur Weihnacht

Featuring

Frieder Bernius
Eva-Maria Schappé
Judith Hilger
Julius Pfeifer
Philip Niederberger
Kirsten Drope

Sabine Czinczel
Ulrike Becker
Johannes Kaleschke
Bernhard Hartmann
Mikhail Shashkov
SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart
Arnold Mendelssohn

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Performer Biography

Frieder Bernius, the conductor, has a personal connection to Arnold Mendelssohn: his grandmother, Helene Weik, was an organ pupil of the composer in Darmstadt.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Arnold Mendelssohn, the composer, believed that true artistic form was rooted in older traditions and was skeptical of the early 20th century's musical progress.

Composer Biography

Arnold Mendelssohn's music, whose family had Jewish roots, disappeared from public awareness after the Nazis came to power in 1933.

Composer Biography

Arnold Mendelssohn was a second cousin to Felix Mendelssohn, who initiated a Bach renaissance by performing Bach's St. Matthew Passion in 1827.

Compositional Technique

The German Mass by Arnold Mendelssohn combines old polyphonic techniques with a flexible harmonic language, often moving to the boundaries of tonality before returning to archaic chordal relationships.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Mendelssohn distinguished strictly between secular music, which could express subjective feelings, and objective sacred music, which he believed should use strict forms like canon and fugue.

Performer Biography

The SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart has performed more premieres than any other choir in its 65-year history, making it a leading ensemble for contemporary music.